Surrender
by Naeryn
Summary: Minako confessed to Rei that she's in love with the senshi of Mars. Rei's cunning plan!


Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. I don't own the song 'Surrender'. Imagine that.

* * *

A tired sigh bubbled up from Rei's throat. Her head hurt, despite the two ibuprofen she'd popped half an hour ago. Nothing seemed to be helping, either her headache or her confusion. She lifted her head from where it rested on her hand and fluffed her hair, biting her lip. It wasn't every day one of your best friends told you that she was in love with you. She closed her eyes, recalling the sensation of Minako's hand running along her arm, the touch her lips against Rei's own.

There was no doubt that Rei felt some affection for the bubbly blonde. Perhaps more than mere affection. She closed her eyes, a picture of Minako immediately forming behind her eyes. She could see, perfectly, how she looked on that day two weeks ago. Her silken hair tossed about by the wind, like a child at play. The sad smile on her lips as she told Rei that she'd been in love with her for two years.

A slow, lazy smile spread over Rei's lips. Lifting herself from her sitting position, she pulled a notebook off of her bookshelf and flipped it open. Grinning, she grabbed a pen off her desk and tapped it against the blank page. After a moment's thought, she began to write.

* * *

"Moshi moshi?" Michiru picked up the phone, her gentle voice murmuring every now and then. Haruka looked up from her position on the couch in time to see her wife gesture for her to bring a pad of paper and a pencil. Haruka brought them quickly, watching as Michiru scribbled out what looked like a poem before hanging up.

She lifted up the pad of paper and showed it to Haruka, smiling brightly. "Rei-chan needs our help, and a bit of our musical ability." Haruka grinned.

* * *

Minako sighed, a romantic smile easing it's way over her features. She always loved it when Haruka and Michiru performed together, and was overjoyed that she'd not only had the opportunity to go, but that she and the rest of the senshi had gotten free tickets. It saddened her a bit that Rei had refused to come along, but she refused to let it dampen the joyful mood of the evening.

She shook herself free of her reverie as the last notes of their last song died away. Minako stood, along with the rest of the crowd, to give Haruka and Michiru a proper ovation.

Up on stage, Haruka held up her hands, gesturing for silence. She remained seated at her piano. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have another song to perform. This is a new piece, and we will have a guest singer joining us on stage." She gave a broad smile. "This piece, titled "Surrender", is dedicated to Aino Minako."

Eyes wide, Minako stared at the stage as Rei, clad in a short-skirted red halter dress. The whole thing was run through with silver thread, making it shine and glisten in the stage lights. Rei stepped up to the microphone that had been vacated by Michiru and smiled nervously. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." She smiled. "Minako-chan, this is for you."

The music swelled, the piano and violin melding together into something that sounded almost like soft rock. The lights refocused on Rei, brightening the sparkle of her dress until Minako was mesmerized. She stood there, eyes closed, for the first few bars of the song.

Then she opened her eyes and began to sing.

"I can't pretend anymore  
That I am not affected, I'm not moved  
I can't lie to myself  
That I'm not always thinking of you,"

Her hands gripped the microphone stand nervously as her eyes searched the crowd. Rei's voice shook slightly. She'd sung in front of crowds before, but not one so large, and briefly she wondered how Haruka and Michiru could perform so flawlessly.

And then her grey eyes lighted on Minako's shining, tear-filled blue ones. All thought except for herself, Minako, and the song that she had to sing, the way she had to tell her, fled from her mind. She pulled the microphone from the stand and began to walk, her gaze locked with Minako's. She stood as close as she could to the edge of the stage, her smile adding life to her song.

"You make me strong  
You show me I'm not weak to fall in love  
Well I thought I'd never need  
Now I can't get enough,"

Rei clenched her free hand into a fist and pulled it close to her chest, letting her body move the way it wanted to with the music. Minako, for her part, thought that Rei had never looked so beautiful as she did then, quite possibly because of the almost lovestruck expression on her face. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, and didn't bother trying to fight them, simply letting the water drip from her lashes.

"I always made it on my own  
I always thought that I would keep control  
You changed everything I believe in  
And now I just can't fight this feeling, baby

I raise my hands and I surrender  
'Cause your love is too strong and I can't go on  
Without your tender arms around me  
I raise my hands and I surrender  
I don't want to resist, 'cause your touch and your kiss  
Have shattered my defenses  
I surrender,"

Rei dropped into a half-crouch, reaching one hand towards Minako imploringly. She didn't even notice as half the audience turned to look at an oblivious blonde and her happily grinning friends.

"I have to admit that I  
I never thought I'd need someone this way  
'Cause you've opened my eyes so that I  
I can see so much more

I always made it on my own  
I always thought that I would keep control  
You changed everything I believe in  
And now I just can't fight this feeling, baby

I raise my hands and I surrender  
'Cause your love is too strong and I can't go on  
Without your tender arms around me  
I raise my hands and I surrender  
I don't want to resist, 'cause your touch and your kiss  
Have shattered my defenses  
I surrender

I surrender to this feeling in my heart, ooh  
I surrender to the safety of your arms  
To the touch of your lips  
To the taste of your kisses,"

Rei hopped off the stage. Wearing the brightest smile any one of her friends had ever seen her with, she strode up the aisle until, somewhere near the back, she came to the group.

"I raise my hands and I surrender  
'Cause your love is too strong and I can't go on  
Without your tender arms around me, hey  
I raise my hands and I surrender  
'Cause your love is too strong and I can't go on  
Without, without, without  
I surrender,"

With a small grin, Makoto, Chibiusa and Hotaru put in a communal effort to heave Minako up and push her over to Rei. As her fellow blonde passed, Usagi gave her a tiny boot to the butt for good measure, grinning broadly.

"I raise my hands and I surrender  
'Cause your love is too strong and I can't go on  
Without your tender arms around me  
And I surrender."

With the last line, Rei wrapped her arm around Minako's waist and pulled her close, pressing their lips together. Haruka and Michiru looked on from the stage with indulgent smiles, their arms resting around each other's waists.

The audience stood and applauded, reminding Rei that there were, in fact, more people in the room than herself and her friends. The colour rose in her cheeks as she gave an embarrassed grin. Dragging Minako with her, she ran back to the stage and hopped up, the joy of both girls evident on their faces.

"Thank you, everyone!" Rei cried into the microphone, her own face quickly becoming streaked with tears to match Minako's. Michiru stepped forwards, gently pulling the mic from Rei's hand and pushing the two girls off stage right.

She and Haruka bowed in unison, smiling out at the audience, most of which was composed of close friends of theirs from art and music circles.

* * *

Makoto, Minako and Rei sat in Ami's car, the two in the back refusing to release each other while Makoto let her hand rest on top of Ami's where it rested on the gear shift. The two exchanged amused smiles, recalling their first days together. Makoto stuck her tongue out at Ami, folded in half, making the blue haired young woman blush fiercely and divert her attention sharply to the road with an almost painful focus. Makoto giggled.

In the backseat, Rei wrapped one arm around Minako and closed her eyes, whispering quietly to herself.

"I can't pretend anymore  
I can't lie to myself  
That I'm not always thinking of you."

* * *

Author's Note: Don't know why, but I've had this stuck in my head for days. Tell me what you think of my brain-cheese!


End file.
